Attachment for lifting truck, with end loading means



May 8, 1956 R. F. HAcKNEY ETAL ATTACHMENT FOR LIFTING TRUCK, WITH END LOADING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 12, 1954 ,E mw j my n. a E u m Mm i 1mm., ma mm o .wm om Rm o n .0%. .un

m m@ uw I m nl M w SQ on o I Sw M @N o NW 9b May 8, 1956 R. F. HACKNEY ETAL ATTACHMENT FOR LIFTING TRUCK, WITH END LOADING MEANS Filed Jan. l2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INI/ENTORJ f .Haclwey Raben E ERM/m2o M. LyLL-z MNH United States Patent ATTACHlt/IENT FR LIFTIN G TRUCK, W'ITH END LOADING MEANS f Robert F. Hackney and Bernard N. Lyle, Batten, tG-a.. Applicannranuary 12, 19s4,sena1,N0. 463,561

9 Claims. (Cl. 214-512) vision for loading and unloading -from the side ofthe f liftingplatform. Such devices are not feasible, and are actually useless, when rrugs kand other llongvnarrow articles are stored in bins endwise. For storing and yremoving such articles endwise in and from bins, it is necessary to have the articles loaded and unloaded `endwise fromthe truck platform; and there kshould-be v,power driven means to move the article olf and on the platform, with controls therefor conveniently llocated for manipulation by the truck driver after he has driven the truck `to the desired spot and elevated the platform to the desired level.

yAn object of this invention is to provide a lift truck .having an elevator carriage, with an attachment providing a platform onto and off of which platform long narrow articles can be loaded and unloaded endwise at any .elevation of the platform.

Another object is to provide a lift truck having the foregoing characteristics with power driven means to move the load endwise onto and off the platform.

Another object is to provide means to control the L operation `of the loading vmeans from the -truck near to y the drivers seat.

vAnother object is ,to provide `a swivel mounting for .the platform to enable yturning of theplatform with .or without the load thereon at any elevationk of the plat- -form and whether the load is fully or onlypartially on the platform. f

Another object is to provide power means for moving the .platform about its swivel mounting, with controls for the driver to manipulate from his seat.

.Another ,object is .to provide .an attachment which accomplishes the foregoing objectives and is attachable as a Iunit to the vertically movable carriages of `existing or new lift trucks. l

`Other objects and advantages of the invention will yoccur as `it is described inl connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: l Fig. 1 is a. perspective view of a lifting truck embodyingtheI invention. v v Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view in side elevation of the inner end of the platform and its support.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail View showing in plan `one corner of the outer end of the platform. l

Fig. 4 `is a plan view of a modified form of;,platform. Pig. 5 isv a-side elevation view of the structure vShown in Fig. 4.

.Referring to the drawings, a truck comprises a 'chassis mounted on wheels 12 and 'carrying a motor. fA

Seat: 14 for the driver is mounted upon the chassis with fasteerng wheel 16 and a lever A17 for,l controlling for- 2,744,644 Patented May 8, 1956 ward and reverse movement of the truck and within easy reach of the drivers seat, as usual. 1

At the front end, the truck has mounted thereon on a vertical frame or column designated by numeral 26 vconstituting a support for lifting mechanism to raise and lower an elevator. The column is xedly mounted Iupon the truck and is or may be made of a pair of parallel vertical channel beams 22 and 24 which are joinedat their bottom to the truck base or chassis, and are joined at their top by a transverse horizontal U-shape metal bracket 26.

Adapted to ride up and Vdown between the rails ofthe frame is a slide made up of a pair of parallel vertical channel beams 32 and 34, which are joined at their top by a transverse beam or head member 36, and are joined near their lower ends by a similar transverse beam 38.

Riding up and down on the slide isl a carriage composed of a top horizontal bar 41, from which is vertically spaced a bottom horizontal member or angle 'bar 42, the two Vbeing joined at their ends byparallel bars 43, 44 'to form a rectangular frame. A platform whose details will be more particularly described hereinafter is carried by the carriage.

The' platform is made up of a pair of long `parallel horizontal angle-iron members or rails 52 and 53, which are joined at `their outer end by a transverse angle-bar 54. At their inner ends, thehorizontal angle-ironsSZ and '53, are welded to a vertical frame portion composed of vertically spaced horizontalstruts 55, 56 whichv are welded at their ends to horizontally 'spaced vertical members'57 and 5S, thus forming a rectangularfframework. For additional support of the platform, inclined parallel tie bars 66 and 6l may be welded at one end to the' cylindrical enlargements on the upper ends of the verti` cal bars 57, 58 and into the bars '43, 44 (seerFig. l).

In order to enable the carriage and platform to ride easily up and down the slide, a pair of lower rollers, such l as 62, are mounted at the bottom portion of the carriage by means of a pair of brackets, such as 64, weldedto the horizontal bar 42 of the carriages at horizontal spaced points so that the rollers 62 and 63 may roll along the outer surface of the vertical slide members 32 land 34. p At the top of the carriage, other bracket members, such as 66, carry upper rollers, such as 68, in position to roll along the inside Surfaces, i. e. those surfaces nearest the truck driver of the vertical slide member 32, 34.

Ain order to raise and lower the slide, an hydraulic ycylinder 90, supported from the truck, is mounted between the fixed vertical members 22, 24, and with its axis parallel thereto. Within the cylinder, an hydraulic yplunger 92 moves up and down as hydraulic fluid is fed pivotally mounted in a bracket 96 attached to the cross-l bar 36 lof the slide; and the other end of the'chain mayl be connected to any convenient fixed part of the vertical supporting" column such as the top transverse bar 26 thereof. The invention is not limited, however, to the lifting mechanism which is described and illustrated only as an example of one simple form presently available on the market. For higher lifts and heavier loads, other available lifting mechanisms may be desirable. Since the controls of the hydraulic fluid for raising and lowering actions per se form no part of my invention, they need not be described.

In order to support a load consisting of a long narrow article upon the platform in such a way that the load may move endwise, a plurality of parallel cylindrical rollers 70 are mounted transversely between the angleirons 52 and 53 in suitable bearings located at spaced points therealong.

In order to move a load, such as a rolled up rug contained in a carton or not, or any article of similar shape endwise on the platform, a large power driven cylinder 72 is mounted at the outer end of the platform and is adapted to be driven in forward or reverse direction so as to move the load onto or otf the platform endwise thereof. By means of right angle mounting brackets 75, two similar motors 73, 74 are mounted separately and oppositely between and supported by the horizontal members 52, 53 of the platform adjacent the driving cylinder 72. The motor shafts are each connected to opposite ends of the cylinder by a sprocket and chain or other suitable drive. One motor is placed to run in one direction while the other motor runs in the opposite direction so that when one motor is running, the cylinder will be revolved in one direction while when the other is running, the cylinder will be revolved in the other direction.

Suitable conventional electric wiring connections 76 are made to a double-throw control switch (not shown) on the truck adjacent the truck driver so that when the switch lever is moved in one position, it will cause operation of one motor while when moved into another position, it will cause operation of the other motor. In a neutral position of the lever, neither motor is operated.

It is often desirable to turn the load after it has been picked up. The need to turn may be manifested just before storing the load or just after it has been removed or at any intermediate time. For that purpose, a variation of the invention may be provided as illustrated in Fig. 4.

A platform comprising parallel rails 152, 153 may be joined at one end by an angle bar 154 as in the previous form. In this variation of the invention, the inner end of the platform is not joined to the carriage, but the ends of the rails 152, 153 are connected by a transverse angle bar 154' like the bar 154. A power driven cylinder 172 may be driven by motors 173, 174 as before to cause the endwise loading and unloading over the transverse free rollers 170 like rollers 70.

The platform is pivotally mounted at its center on a vertical hub 180 carried by and extending down from a horizontal supporting plate 182 extending between the rails 152 and 153 at the center of gravity of the platform. Within the hub is a vertical axle 184 which extends into coaxial spaced bearings 185, 186 in a bearing member of which the bearings 185, 186 are joined by a vertical supporting bar 187.

Supporting the bearing assembly 185, 186, 187 and through it, the platform, is supporting structure consisting of a pair of parallel angle iron rails 190, 191 slightly inclined from the horizontal and joined at their outer ends by a transverse horizontal angle iron member 192. At their inner ends, they are joined to a rectangular inner end support, as in the previously described form, which consisted of the members 55, 56, 57, 58 for mounting the whole attachment, as a unit, on the carriage cross bar 46 of the raising and lowering mechanism.

In order to cause controlled pivoting under power of the platform, an hydraulic cylinder 193 may be mounted on a transverse strut or struts 194 between the bars 190, 191. A plunger 195, movable inwardly and outwardly 4 of the cylinder, reciprocates a rack member 196 tixedly attached thereto. The teeth of the rack mesh with a pinion 198 aixed on the pivot shaft 184 to cause rotary movement of the shaft 184 and the platform which is also affixed thereto.

Fluid conduits at each end of the hydraulic cylinder may be suitably connected to a source of liquid. The liquid may be under control of a motor in a closed circuit so that as fluid is caused to enter on each side of the plunger alternately under pressure, it will at the same time be permitted to leave the other end of the cylinder. The motor may be reversible so that the piston may be caused to move in either direction, and thus the direction and amount of pivoting may be controlled by the direction and degree of rotation of the motor. Obviously, however other forms of power means may be employed such as a direct drive between an electric motor and the pivot 184 of the platform through suitable reduction gearing. Also a friction clutch may be provided to permit rotation of the motor in case the platform should become stuck or its rotation prevented while the motor is operating.

The control of the motor for controlling the pivoting of the platform may be by the usual electric connections to a conventional reversing switch mounted upon the truck at a place convenient to the drivers seat so that the driver may readily control the rotation of the platform as well as its elevation, and as well as the movement of the truck from his seat.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that we have provided an attachment which may be applied to existing lifting truck structures or incorporated during the manufacture of new lift trucks. It not only enables loading of long narrow articles endwise on its platform, but also permits raising and lowering with a supporting platform to the desired height when it is desired to store such articles in a bin or to load them or place them at any desired location.

The invention also provides for turning the platform with the load thereon or not, by power means controlled from the truck and easily accessible to the driver. It is thus possible to pick up or to discharge an article in a different direction than the direction of unloading or loading respectively, without the necessity of turning the truck to face in a different direction. Since it is sometimes impossible to turn the truck, the ability to turn the platform is a valuable feature of the invention.

Many modifications within the scope of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, we do not limit the invention to the specific form illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

l. A movable lift truck having a vertical frame, means movable vertically along said frame, power driven means to move said vertically movable means, supporting means on said vertically movable means, a platform pivotally mounted for horizontal movement upon said supporting means, means operable from the truck to cause pivoting of said platform, a rotatable cylinder on the end of said platform, and motor means operable from the truck to rotate said cylinder clockwise or counterclockwise for moving onto or off said platform endwise thereof.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein the means causing pivoting of the platform comprises a rack, a pinion connected to said platform and engaged by the rack, and power means to move the rack.

3. An attachment for a lift truck having a vertical frame composed of a pair of vertical parallel rails, and a carriage slidable vertically and relative to said frame, said attachment comprising a long narrow horizontal platform extending perpendicularly to the plane of said rails, a pair of spaced parallel arms extending substantially vertically from one end of the platform, and horizontal rod means to connect the upper ends of said arms to the carriage to join the platform as a unit to the truck, the lower vplatform over said rollers.

4. `An attachment as claimed in claim 3 wherein the means to drive the article-moving cylinder is a motor, and control means on the truck for operating the motor in forward or reverse directions.

5. An attachment for a lift truck having a vertical frame composed of a pair of vertical parallel rails and a carriage slidable vertically and relative to said frame, said attachment comprising a horizontal supporting means eX- tending perpendicularly to the plane of the rails, a pair of spaced parallel arms extending substantially vertically from one end of the support, and means to connect the upper ends of said arms to the carriage to join the supporting means and the parts carried thereby as a unit to the truck, a long narrow platform pivotally mounted for horizontal movement upon said supporting means, and power operated means at one end of said platform operable from the truck for moving long narrow articles endwise on to and off the platform.

6. An attachment as claimed in claim 5 having poweroperated means operable from the truck to pivot said platform on said supporting means.

7. An attachment as claimed in claim 6 having rack and pinion means associated with the pivotal mounting of the platform to cause pivoting of the platform.

8. An attachment as claimed in claim 5 wherein the power-operated means comprises a rotary cylinder engageable with the articles, and motor means to operate said cylinder in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions.

9. An attachment as claimed in claim 5 wherein the arms are connected to the carriage by horizontal rod means, the lower ends of said arms engaging the carriage and holding said supporting means in substantially horizontal position.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 385,249 Daniels June 26, 1888 1,826,116 Andrews Oct. 6, 1931 1,931,484 Bosserdet et al Oct. 24, 1933 2,410,373 Westervelt Oct. 29, 1946 2,525,870 Crofoot Oct. 17, 1950 2,538,505 Carter Jan. 16, 1951 2,547,329 Lapham Apr. 3, 1951 2,599,052 Forman .Tune 3, 1952 2,620,930 Mullgardt Dec. 9, 1952 2,665,019 Lorimer Jan. 5, 1954 2,672,993 Lee Mar. 23, 1954 2,684,164 Violette July 20, 1954 

